Alur people
Alur are a Nilotic ethnic group who live in northwestern Uganda and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They are part of the larger Luo group. In Uganda, they live mainly in the Nebbi, Zombo, Pakwach and Arua districts, while in the DRC, they reside mostly north of Lake Albert. Most members of the group speak Alur, a language closely related to Dojunam Acholi, Adhola, and Luo languages. Some Alur speak Lendu or Kebu. Alur language dialects vary considerably. The highland Alur (Okoro) speak a slightly different dialect from the lowland Alur (Jonam), and it might be difficult to for a native highland Alur person to properly understand his lowland kinsman. The Alur Kingdom is probably the only one that was unaffected by the Ugandan ban on traditional monarchies in 1966. All Alur Kings are referred to as "Rwoth", just like all Luo Chiefs and Kings. The current Alur King is Rwoth Phillip Rauni Olarker, whose coronation was in 2010. When the Europeans arrived, the Alur people were organized in ten chiefdoms, namely: Angal, Juganda, Jukoth, Mukambu, War Palara, Panduru, Ukuru, Paidha, Padeo and Panyikano. Based on the royal spear head bearing tradition, the Ubimu of Alur tribe H.M Philip Olarker Rauni III is the supreme ruler of the entire Alur tribe, with his capital at Kaal Atyak Winam, Zombo district, Uganda. In Angal, the current king is Rwoth Djalore Serge II. He took over from his late father Kamanda who died in 1998. All these sub tribes of the Alur descended directly from King Nyipir lineage. The largest Alur tribe was the Ukuru clan, who counted 10,000 adult men in 1914, although Alur counted boys as young as 14 years as men. The Ukuru tribe was founded in 1630 when Ngira, a member of the Aryak family migrated with a number of young men including his younger brother Ijira. They took over the territory from the indigenous Bantu inhabitants. The region was quickly alurized. The descendants of the original Bantu men now form the Abira family. Bantu maternal ancestry is very common in Ukuru.
